Let me care for you
by Argentum Anubis
Summary: Sam gets injured on a hunt and all Dean wants to do is make things better, but his brother won't let him. Castiel helps Dean out.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** You can take this as Destiel if you like, but if you don't ship them, you can ignore the hints. There are only a few minor curse words.

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own _Supernatural_. Nor am I Eric Kripke. Also, I do not own an Impala or have a pair of wings. I do, however, own the plot of this story.

-o-0-o-

"What the Hell were you thinking?!"

"I was thinking that since I had the chance to kill that demon, I should probably take it!" Sam yelled back.

Dean glares at the claw marks on his brother's arm. "Yeah. And as you were trying to gank that damn monster, it got you. That was a reckless move, man. It could've killed you!"

Sam rolls his eyes. "But it didn't." As Dean opens his mouth to retort, Sam continues on. "Would you stop treating me like a child? I can handle this stuff on my own!"

There is a whooshing sound as Castiel appears in the corner of the hotel room. He frowns, sizing up the situation. The Winchesters ignore him.

Dean steps forward, reaching out. "Just let me take care of your-"

Sam steps off to the side and Dean's hand misses; he lets it fall to his side. "I told you: I'm fine." He backs away.

Dean blocks his path. "Where are you going?"

"To get a drink and bandage up my arm," growls Sam. "Away from here." He brushes past his brother and storms out slamming the door behind him.

"That went well." Dean releases a tired sigh. He turns to face his guest. "What do you want, Cass?"

Castiel observes Dean for a moment, eyes narrowed as he tries to guess what his friend might be thinking. "I was hoping I could read through your notes; I believe I may have discovered a cursed object, but this particular item is… stranger than others. It is nothing like anything I have ever come across. I need to find a way to dispose of it."

Dean waves a hand at his backpack. "In there."

Castiel's trench coat flutters behind him as he crosses the room to the bag on the table. "Thank you," He unzips it and takes out the journal.

Deans rubs a hand across his face. He walks over to the bar top behind Castiel and retrieves a glass bottle of alcohol from the cabinet.

Castiel sifts through the papers, skimming them for information relating to his search. Suddenly, his breath hisses as he inhales out in pain.

Hearing the pained noise, Dean turns around in the middle of pouring some scotch into a glass. "You okay, Cass?"

The angel holds out his hand. "I seem to have cut my finger on the pages."

Sure enough, there is a slim cut down the side of Castiel's right pointer finger; dark red seeps slowly from it.

Dean takes a sip of his drink, then sets it down on the table. "Come on," he instructs his friend, walking to the bathroom.

Castiel obediently follows, holding his injured finger off to the side.

Dean opens the medicine cabinet and draws out a white plastic box. He sets it on the counter and begins riffling through it. Upon locating what he is searching for, he pulls out a bandage and sets it next to the sink. Dean turns on the faucet and puts Castiel's hand under the running water. He gestures for Castiel to wash his hands and the angel relents, a perplexed expression on his face.

Once he has dried his hands, Dean takes his finger again and applies some disinfectant cream to the cut, which is still bleeding slowly. He picks the bandage off the counter and wraps it around the injured finger.

When he releases Castiel's hand, the man glances at him. A dismayed look plays on his face. "What is this?"

"A band-aid."

"I realize that. What I mean is, why did you put it on my finger? I am an angel; the cut will heal shortly."

Dean shrugs, trying to remain nonchalant as he returns the first-aid kit to the medicine cabinet. "I'm used to cleaning up Sam's wounds, so I guess it's just an instinct for me. And now he won't let me and you hurt your hand, so… I just needed to…."

"But-"

"Just let me take care of you, Cass!"

Castiel falls silent, recalling the fight between the brothers he had stumbled into earlier.

Dean turns his eyes away, ashamed for losing his patience and yelling at his friend.

The truth is, Dean is upset; Sam had gotten hurt on Dean's watch, even though it was his job to protect his little brother. Then, to make matters worse. Sam had pushed him away when all he wanted to do was make thing better. It is not just that he is used to caring for Sam, as he had told Castiel—he _needed_ to. He is always killing and fighting. Dean needs to be able to care for someone.

Castiel quietly murmurs something pulling Dean from his thoughts.

"What, Cass?"

"I said, okay."

"'Okay' what?"

"I will allow you to care for me." Castiel frowns down at the tan band around his finger. "Although I must say, I find this to be a strange tradition for humans as a way to express their caring for another."

-o-0-o-

 **A/N:** _I am considering doing another chapter or two for this, showing how things are solved between Sam and Dean. Just let me know what you think and whether or not you'd like that. Comments and suggestions are always welcomed, just keep it civil. Thanks._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N** : Well, I considered this story and the requests I've had to continue it, so I am changing it from a one-shot to a four-shot (I may make it a five-shot if I can't get everything into four chapters).

If you have any suggestions for how I might make this story any better, let me know and I'll give it a try. Reviews are always welcome (as usual, keep it civil).

-o-0-o-

Castiel leaves Dean alone in the hotel room while he goes in search of the other Winchester.

He finds the younger brother, sitting in a bar across the street, his arm poorly wrapped in a cloth bandage. It is loose around his arm and red has already appeared through the thin fabric. He is nursing some kind of alcoholic beverage- Castiel assumes beer, knowing the man's preferences.

"You should allow your brother to tend to your wound," Castiel tells Sam as he joins him at the bar.

Sam glances over at him, and then takes a sip from his class. Taking his time, he swallows the remaining liquid. He gestures at the barkeeper and she refills the cup before going to serve another customer.

"Why? I can do it just fine on my own."

"As strange as it might be, it is Dean's way of showing that he cares." Castiel raises his right hand to show his bandaged finger. "He is very good at it, too."

Sam raises an eyebrow. "Dean did that?

Castiel nods. "I believe that he was upset that you would not allow him to assist you."

"I just didn't want to make him have to care for me after I was injured because of my own stupid mistake," Sam explains. "He's always going out of his way to do things for me. But after this case, he seemed pretty tired, so I wanted him to go and relax." He groans, scrubbing a hand across his forehead. "It was my fault, anyway. But I didn't realize how much it meant to him. I guess I was just upset that I'd screwed up so all I saw was him trying to treat me like a child and trying to clean up my mistake." He looked over at the man in the trench coat, who was awkwardly perched on the stool. "Where is Dean now?"

"Still in the hotel room."

Sam nods, draining the rest of his beer and slapping money on the bar top to pay for it. He claps a hand on Castiel's shoulder and nods his head in way of thanks before hurrying from the bar.

Castiel smiles as he watches the door swing shut.

The bartender swages over. She takes away Sam's empty glass and the money. "Can I get you anything, mister?" she inquires.

Castiel shakes his head. "No. I have everything I could ever need."

-o-0-o-

 **A/N** : This chapter did not turn out as good as I had hoped it would... But, I guess that is the way it is with most sequels, eh?

I would love to hear what you thought. I am currently working on the next chapter, so keep your eyes open for it.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N** : I'm alive and back with another chapter! This part has more obvious hints at Destiel, but it is not said outright. You can have goggles on or no goggles; it's your choice. Enjoy!

-o-0-o-

When Sam enters the hotel room Dean is sitting on one of the twin beds, cleaning his gun. The younger Winchester clears his throat, giving an awkward, "Hey."

"Hey," Dean returns, not looking up.

Sam sits down on the edge of the other bed. "So…" He twists his hands nervously. "About earlier… I was an idiot."

Dean gives a small laugh, nodding.

"But, Dean, I wasn't angry at you; I was annoyed with myself for almost screwing up the hunt."

Dean looks up. "It happens to all of us. But you're forgiven, so let it go."

"But, Dean-"

"Let it go," his brother sternly replies.

Sam exhales. "Fine. Jerk."

"Bitch."

And like that, they had made up.

Dean puts his gun back together and slides it under his pillow.

They sit on the edges of the beds for a few minutes, staring at the door.

"So…" Sam started, "You bandaged Castiel's finger? What's that about?"

Dean shrugs, trying to playing off his embarrassment. "He got a paper cut, so I cleaned it up. Nothing more to say."

"Dean, he's an _angel_. He doesn't _need_ bandages."

"So?"

Sam spread out his hands. "So, I think there's more to this than either of you are admitting."

"Why would you think that?"

Sam scoffs good-humoredly. "Well, for one you have a bond with the guy that no-one can explain."

Dean rolls his eyes. "The guy saved me from _Hell_. Excuse me if we're close."

"You bandaged his finger after he got a miniscule cut, even though it is probably healed by now." Sam gave him a look that said _Seriously? Come up with a better excuse._

"… I… Didn't want him bleeding on the papers." Dean nods once. "Yeah, that's it. That would be unsanitary, you know."

His brother sends him an incredulous look. "Since when have you ever cared about cleanliness?"

Dean shrugs off the question.

Sam snorts. "Whatever."

His older brother purses his lips, glancing at Sam's shoulder. "Will you let me take care of your shoulder now?"

Sam sighs. "I guess." He pretends to be hesitant, but is actually relieved.

As Dean peels back the already bloodied bandages, he grunts. "You did a terrible job of this for someone who was taught first aid at five years old."

"I was _five_. Who expects their kid to learn this kind of stuff at that age?"

Dean shrugs. "Dad, I guess. He didn't really know how to care for us, so the best he could do was teach us how to care for ourselves."

Sam frowns. He briefly wonders if it was his father who had caused Dean to have the need to care for others, but without being able to express out loud that fact.

Not wanting to say this out loud and possibly upset his brother, he simply nods. "Maybe," he agrees, "maybe."

* * *

 **A/N** : Aww! Daddy issues. Had to add that. Although I really do feel like their dad did cause Dean some of his emotional problems, since Sam spent more time away from him and has an easier time expressing his feelings, while Dean is the opposite. What do you think?

One more chapter to go, folks!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N** : *Sigh* The last chapter... so very sad. But I'm sure I'll find something else to work on after this (like my other multi-chapter Supernatural story, "Doubt". Feel free to check it out.)

-o-0-o-

Castiel joins the Winchesters in the hotel room a short while later, once he thinks that they have talked out any issues they might want to discuss in private.

They are sitting on one of the beds. Dean has undone the bindings Sam put on his arm and is wrapping new ones around the torn skin of his lower left arm.

Dean looks up as Castiel appears in the center of the room. The green-eyed man lifts the corner of his mouth. "Hey, Cass. How's your finger?"

Castiel raises it, studying the band-aid. "Much better. Thank you, Dean."

Sam gives Dean a knowing look.

His face grows pink and he averts his eyes, suddenly becoming interested in his fingers as they worked on the cloth wrapping. When he is done, he cuts the end and rolls up the remaining cloth, returning it to the first-aid kit.

Sam thanks his brother and rolls the sleeve of his shirt over it.

"So, you've gotten to take care of us both today," comments Sam.

Dean chuckles. "Yeah. Somebody has to take care of you two."

Sam and Castiel exchange a look as Dean goes to wash his hands.

They both know that Dean cares a great deal about them both, and that being able to help them in return and show his affections makes him feel better.

They just have to let him care for them.

-o-0-o-

 **A/N** : Super sorry about how long this took to write/revise/post. But it's done now! Hope you enjoyed. Thanks so much for reading!


End file.
